Business Journal NORTHEAST
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PENNSYLVANIA
THE REGION’S AWARD-WINNING SOURCE OF BUSINESS NEWS AND INFORMATION
JULY 2015 VOL. 30 NO. 8
Some small businesses wary of severance tax By Kathy Ruff
As Pennsylvania’s new fiscal year begins on July 1, reforms in state pensions, liquor control and education funding remain controversial issues stalling the adoption of the 2015-16 budget. Gov. Wolf’s spending plan centers on a proposed severance tax on natural gas drillers to help pay for the state’s education funding and to fill other state funding gaps. The tax would replace an impact fee adopted under Act 13 in 2012, which in
2014 distributed $223.5 million collected to counties and municipalities hosting wells. Municipalities and counties in areas where impact fees exist have used those funds to help their specific communities. For example, Lycoming County used some of their impact fee revenue to pave roads and repair bridges. Susquehanna put their revenue toward emergency preparedness, social services,
ALSO INSIDE:
Water hauling is one way entrepreneurs and small businesses have found work in the Please see SEVERANCE TAX on page 16 Marcellus Shale. — The Citizens' Voice photo
Can buildings change the way we work? Area experiments will help us find out
Who’s Who 2015 ..........Inserted Credit markets improving ABA’s
quarterly report shows credit users keeping debt low .......................... 6
Circles not pyramids Major
companies embrace holacracy. Should you?................................. 12
Jennifer Meyer, MetLife’s director of workplace excellence, says that the work world keeps changing — just when building designers think they have it ‘right,’ new and brilliant ideas appear about the way people work. Met Life’s new Clarks Summit facility is meant to stimulate creativity and keep employee thinking fresh. — MetLife photo By Dave Gardner
Brick and mortar investment is finally accelerat-
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The University of Scranton continues construction of the school’s Center for Rehabilitation Education on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Linden Street. The building’s purpose is to promote integration and collaboration among the Panuska College’s many disciplines and to embrace new, active learning methods. — Times Tribune file photo
ing in NEPA as the stifling Great Recession fades and select regional organizations construct 21st century professional environments. In the process, these organizations are seeking to
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escalate workplace efficiency, appeal to talented young people and also shore up the bottom line. The University of Scranton has spent $47.5 million to construct an eight-story, 111,500-squarePlease see BUILDINGS page 28
Fair funding found? Basic
Education Funding Commission releases report on schools.............6
Show me the money Lawmakers
hear from small business on the challenges of finding financing .... 36
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